Jan's Plans & Pans - September 24, 2024

I am back in Washington this week, and tomorrow, the House of Representatives is poised to pass a clean continuing resolution to keep our government open and funded through the end of the year. I am glad Democrats and Republicans were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to put the needs of everyday Americans first. Too much was at stake. I will continue fighting to ensure that any future budget bill is free from poison pill policy provisions. 

In other news, I reintroduced legislation to help consumers who have fallen victim to frauds, scams, and other illegal activities. For over 40 years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) relied on section 13(b) to give billions of dollars in relief to defrauded consumers, but that longstanding authority was overturned in 2021 by the Supreme Court. Every one of the FTC Commissioners has expressed support for section 13(b). My bill, the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act, passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support last Congress and will reinstate section 13(b) and the FTC’s authority to repay consumers. This legislation will help stop bad actors in their tracks and put money back into the pockets of individuals. We must act!

I am excited to be back in the 9th Congressional District, and I am looking forward to seeing so many of you out and about in our community. Please stay tuned for the latest updates.

Be well,

Schakowsky Celebrates 15th Anniversary of Sports Fan Coalition!

Sports Fans Coalition has been instrumental in protecting the rights of sports fans. Last week, we marked their 15th anniversary! Together, with overwhelming bipartisan support, we passed my bill, the TICKET Act, out of the House. Consumers deserve fair pricing. The Senate must act!

Schakowsky Recognizes 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools

I am pleased to congratulate John Hersey High School and Lake Zurich Middle School for their designation as 2024 National Blue Ribbon schools by the Department of Education!  This award is a testament to the hard work of the creative and engaging teachers, dedicated administrators, involved parents, and of course, the students! 

My district office helped a constituent obtain a travel document to visit family during an emergency:

“We want to express enormous gratitude for all the support provided by Rep. Schakowsky and her team. We were in a very complicated situation with the loss of a family member, and they gave us their help to obtain a permit to travel to support our family in such a painful moment.

"We were in a moment of great sadness as a family, and we wanted to be close to them. We thought this was going to take a long time, but thanks to the help and concern of Rep. Schakowsky's office, it only took one week to be reunited with my family. We will be forever grateful for all the help provided.”

Michael & Geraldine

Register for the 2024 Congressional App Challenge!

The Congressional App Challenge is back! Submissions for the 2024 Congressional App Challenge are due Thursday, October 24th. This competition is open to all students, regardless of coding experience and is intended to highlight the value of computer science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.

To learn more about the competition, register or submit an app please click here.

Medicare Part D Open Enrollment

Medicare Part D open enrollment starts on October 15th and runs through December 7th. New plans will begin on January 1st, 2025 and will be closed to changes until October 2025. I would like to get the message out to as many people as possible that they need to be looking at the Annual Notice of Change packets they just received from their current Medicare Part D plans. These are required to be sent out to all current Medicare Part D plan members and contain all changes to their plans’ premiums, co-pays, and deductibles for the upcoming year.

Why does this matter?
Since the $2,000 cap on out of pocket Medicare prescription drug costs starts in January of 2025, some of the Medicare Part D plans may be increasing their premiums, co-pays, and deductibles to make up this loss of revenue. There may be changes to your 2024 plan next year making it much more expensive in 2025.

If you do not review your current plan during the Medicare Part D Open Enrollment Period (October 15-December 7th) and just allow it to roll over, you may be surprised to see some costly changes. The next time you will be able to fix this will be October of 2025, effective in January of 2026!

You have a chance to address this. You can make an appointment with your local SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Program) counselor and schedule an appointment to review your current plan. SHIP can be reached at (800) 252-8966 or you can find your closest SHIP counselor by visiting the SHIP page on the Illinois Department on Aging website here. 

A few minutes now can save a lot later!

Passport Renewal

Remember to check your passport validity before booking any summer travel plans! Current processing times for passports are: 6-8 weeks for routine and 2-3 weeks for expedited. These times are subject to change and are posted on the Dept. of State Website.  Please apply well in advance of your travel date – if your travel date is sooner than the current processing times, you may not get your passport in time for travel.

Please remember that emergency in-person appointments at the Chicago Passport Agency are intended for emergencies and availability is not guaranteed unless it is a life or death emergency! These appointments are not and have never been intended for routine renewal. If you have upcoming travel you should NOT plan on receiving an appointment at the Chicago Passport Agency. Passport renewals are intended to go through the mail. 

Did you know that many countries require your passport to be valid for several months beyond your date of travel? Depending on your destination, validity requirements can vary from 3 to 6 months beyond the date of travel! You can check the requirements for your destination on the Dept. of State Website under "International Travel" and "Country Information".

If you have planned travel and have a pending application that may not arrive on time, or if you need an emergency appointment at the Chicago Passport Agency, the Constituent Advocates in my District Office are happy to help! Please call the office at 773-506-7100, or you can open a case with my office online.